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woensdag 16 januari 2013

BOB'S NEW HEART SHOW (FOX, New!) - Ben Wexler ("Community") has sold a potential single-camera comedy to the network about "a young hotshot doctor who, after receiving a heart transplant, re-evaluates his life and takes over the small family practice in the working-class neighborhood where he grew up." Conan O'Brien's Warner Bros. Television-based Conaco is behind the half-hour with David Kissinger and Jeff Ross also among the executive producers. (Deadline.com)

EX MEN (CBS) - Jerry O'Connell ("Do Not Disturb") has booked the remaining principal role on the single-camera comedy pilot, about twentysomething Carter (Chris Smith), who finds camaraderie living among three more experienced men he meets in a short-term rental complex. He'll play one of them, Stuart, "a feisty conservative and a successful OB/GYN with a booming practice who is in the middle of his second painful divorce." Rebecca Breeds, Kal Penn and Tony Shalhoub also star in the CBS Television Studios-based The Tannenbaum Co. project, from creator Rob Greenberg. (Deadline.com)

HOW THE F--- AM I NORMAL (ABC) - Wendi McLendon-Covey ("Bridesmaids") is the first to be cast in the 1980s-set comedy pilot, about "an in-your-face mother and hot-tempered father who love their three eccentric kids so much, they can't bear to see them grow up." She'll play Beverly Gold, "a dedicated mom and an overbearing hyper-emotional shopaholic with no sense of boundaries and a big mouth that she's not afraid to use." Writer Adam F. Goldberg and director by Seth Gordon are behind the hour, which is set up at the Sony Pictures Television-based Happy Madison banner. (Deadline.com)

I AM VICTOR (NBC) - Mark Goffman's drama - about Victor Port, a high powered divorce attorney with a unique view of relationships - is the latest to receive a pilot order at the Peacock. The Universal Television-based hour is based on Norwegian novelist Jo Nesbo's book of the same name, who will executive produce alongside Goffman, Katie Jacobs and Niclas Salomonsson as well as Television 360's Daniel Rappaport and Meghan Lyvers. (Deadline.com)

THE ORIGINALS (The CW, New!) - Joseph Morgan and Phoebe Tonkin are set to topline a proposed spin-off of the netlet's flagship drama "The Vampire Diaries." The project, to be penned by Julie Plec, will air as a backdoor pilot as part of the parent series on April 25. As for specifics, the series would follow Klaus (Morgan) as he "returns to the supernatural melting pot that is the French Quarter of New Orleans - a town he helped build centuries ago - and is reunited with his diabolical former protégé Marcel." Alloy Entertainment's Leslie Morgenstein and Gina Girolamo would also serve as executive producers for Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios. (Deadline.com)

PRISONERS' WIVES (Lifetime, New!) - The cable channel is looking to import Julie Gearey's BBC drama, about four different women, each struggling to cope with a man in her life serving prison time. Endemol Studios is behind the hour with the company's Jeremy Gold and Russ Buchholtz executive producing. (THR.com)

TURN (AMC) - Rupert Wyatt ("Rise of the Planet of the Apes") has signed on to helm the pilot, a period drama about a New York farmer, Abe Woodhull, who bands together with a group of childhood friends to form The Culper Ring, an unlikely group of spies who turn the tide in America's fight for independence. He'll work from a script by Craig Silverstein, which is based on Alexander Rose's book "Washington's Spies." AMC Studios and Josephson Entertainment are co-producing. (Deadline.com)

UNTITLED GOOR & SCHUR PROJECT (FOX) - The Andy Samberg-led comedy - about a diverse group of detectives in a precinct at the very edge of New York City - has formally been ordered to pilot by the network. Michael Schur and Dan Goor penned the single-camera project for Universal Television. 3 Arts Entertainment's David Miner is executive producing alongside the co-creators. (Deadline.com)

UNTITLED JIM GAFFIGAN PROJECT (CBS) - The Eye has greenlit production on Jim Gaffigan and Peter Tolan's single-camera comedy pilot, about "a guy (Gaffigan) who lives with his wife and five kids in a two-bedroom New York apartment." Sony Pictures Television-based Fedora Entertainment is behind the half-hour with Alex Murray and Michael Wimer also serving as executive producers. (Deadline.com)

MOM (CBS) - Anna Faris ("The Dictator") has been tapped for the title role on the Chuck Lorre-produced comedy pilot, about a newly sober single mom who tries to pull her life together in Napa Valley. Eddie Gorodetsky and Gemma Baker co-wrote the multi-camera project alongside Lorre for his Warner Bros. Television-based Chuck Lorre Productions. (Deadline.com)

OFF SEASON (Starz, New!) - Eric Amadio ("Shadows & Lies") has sold a new drama to the pay channel about "the newly promoted, youngest head coach in professional football as he handles harsh competition." Said effort is inspired by the lives of ex-NFL players Keyshawn Johnson and Brian Kelly, who will executive produce alongside Amadio and Jeremy Elice via the latter's newly launched Elice Island Entertainment, which has a first-look deal at the channel. (THR.com)

TOMORROW (ABC, New!) - Barry Schindel ("Castle") and Brett Ratner ("Chaos") are set to team for potential drama at the Alphabet about "an FBI agent who gets trapped in a time travel scenario." Georgeville Television is behind the hour, which is being eyed for a straight-to-series order. Katherine Lindberg and Ted Cyr created the project with Ratner attached to direct and Schindel set to serve as showrunner. Anonymous Content's Michael Sugar and Nicole Romano also serve as executive producers. (Deadline.com)

UNTITLED CHER & RON ZIMMERMAN PROJECT (Logo, New!) - Comedian Ron Zimmerman and iconic singer Cher are set to team for a period drama at the cable channel set in early 1960s Hollywood. No other details were given about the project, which was announced during the Viacom portion of the TCA Winter Press Tour. It's not clear if Cher will have an on-camera role on the potential series, which she and Zimmerman are co-writing.

BLOODLINE (NBC) - David Graziano's drama - about "an orphaned young girl, Bird Benson, who, due to an accident of birth, is caught in the epic struggle between two warring families of mercenaries and killers" - has been ordered to pilot by the Peacock. Universal Television-based Film 44 is behind the hour with the company's Peter Berg - who's also attached to direct - and Sarah Aubrey executive producing alongside Graziano. (Deadline.com)

MIXOLOGY (ABC, New!) - Jon Lucas and Scott Moore's single-camera comedy - which chronicles the exploits of singles in search of love over the course of one night - has been given a pilot order by the Alphabet. ABC Studios is behind the half-hour, which was given a put pilot commitment back in October. (Deadline.com)

LEGENDS (TNT) - Ali Larter ("Heroes") has booked the female lead on the drama pilot, about a deep-cover operative named Martin Odum (Sean Bean), who has an uncanny ability to transform himself into a different person for each job. She'll play Crystal, "an operative with D.C.O. who has a history with Martin and initially objects to his return to the task force." Amber Valletta, Lux Haney Jardine, Rob Mayes, Steve Harris and Tina Majorino also star in the Fox 21-based hour, which is based on a book by master spy novelist Robert Littell. David Semel directs. (Deadline.com)

The last ever episode of Fringe is just days away, so Fox is stepping up the publicity with this creepy promo poster...

We've seen the promo trailer, now a disturbing new image arrives for the two-hour Fringe finale, due to air this Friday in the US and early Saturday morning in the UK and Ireland.

Entitled An Enemy of Fate, the one hundredth and final episode of Fringe comes directed and written by showrunner J.H Wyman, and sees Walt and co. face off against The Observers in an epic battle for the fate of mankind.

As posters go, this one's startlingly reminiscent of Magritte's The Son of Man, if you imagine a levitating apple just about where the nosebleed is...

New CNN president Jeff Zucker said at a meeting for CNN employees that he supports Piers Morgan's decision to speak out against U.S. gun laws, Politico reports.

Morgan has called for tighter gun control laws since the school shootings in Newtown, Conn., a month ago. The backlash to Morgan's stand has included a petiton -- dismissed by the White House -- calling for the British-born Morgan to be deported.

During a town-hall meeting with staff, Politico said, Zucker was asked whether CNN employees should express opinions. Zucker said he was in favor of it when appropriate, citing Morgan's case.

That doesn't necessarily mean CNN is breaking with its longstanding practice of not expressing opinions in its news stories. Morgan is a host, not an anchor or reporter.

Also read: Obama Responds to Petition to Deport Piers Morgan

It also does not appear from Politico's reporting that Zucker was taking a stand on gun control. He seems to have backed Morgan's right to express an opinion without necessarily agreeing with that opinion.

Homeland star Damian Lewis has been confirmed as a special guest for the 19th series of BBC Two's Top Gear.

The British actor, who won a Golden Globe for his role as Sergeant Nicholas Brody at the weekend, will take part in the show's 'Star in a Reasonably Priced Car' feature.

Lewis will be interviewed by host Jeremy Clarkson and then take a drive on the Top Gear test track.

Previous celebrities who have impressed with top speeds on the show include Matt LeBlanc, Simon Cowell, Ellen MacArthur, Jimmy Carr, Rowan Atkinson and Michael Fassbender.

Top Gear returns for its 19th series on Sunday, January 27 at 8pm on BBC Two.

Features expected in the new series include a road trip across the US in the new SRT Viper, a Lexus LFA and an Aston Martin Vanquish, a race from Wembley to Milan to watch a football match, and James May rallying in a Bentley Continental GT, driven by ex-Mini WRC driver Kris Meeke.

There will also be an Africa special where Clarkson, Hammond and May buy a station wagon and have to drive to the source of the Nile.

Lee Thompson, one of the stars of TLC's "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo," says in an interview with an Atlanta magazine that he is HIV-positive.

In an interview with Fenuxe, Thompson -- who is called "Uncle Poodle" on the show -- says that he was diagnosed in May.

"I knew it had been my boyfriend who infected me," Thompson told the site. "I later learned he had been HIV positive and was not taking medication and had not bothered to tell me about it. I was advised that I should press charges and, hesitantly, I did. It was the right thing to do."

Thompson's ex is currently serving a five-year sentence because of the deception, Thompson told the site.

"I would have been cool with his HIV status if he had been honest," Thompson said. "I don’t have an issue with the disease. I would have known how to protect myself."

A spokesman for TLC had no comment for TheWrap on Thompson's revelation.

The series has been canceled by Lifetime after four seasons, the last of which ended in September.

An individual familiar with the situation told TheWrap that the cost of producing the series had become prohibitive, and that Lifetime had approached Sony Pictures Television, which produced the series, about coming up with creative ways to keep the series on the air, apparently to no avail.

Ratings-wise, the series had performed well. In combination with "Army Wives," "Drop Dead Diva" helped push Lifetime to the number one cable position on Sundays from 9 to 11 p.m. among the women 25-54 demographic last year.

"Drop Dead Diva" revolved around a shallow model who dies in a car crash and comes back to life in the body of a recently deceased lawyer who had led an altruistic life. Brooke Elliott, Margaret Cho and Jackson Hurst starred on the series.

Call the Midwife star Jessica Raine has spoken about her experiences working on the new series of Doctor Who.

Raine will guest in the upcoming run of the BBC show as a character called Emma Grayling.

Speaking to the Radio Times about her stint, Raine said: "[It is] very different from Midwife. On Doctor Who it was all mind machines and strobe lighting.

"But it was a magical experience and something I was very happy to do. It's a very different character and genre - you have to throw yourself into it and take it very seriously.

"I hadn't realised what an institution Doctor Who is. I got offered the part and didn't think that much about it. Then you go on set and you see this blue police telephone box, and suddenly the weight of what you're doing hits home."

She also praised Doctor Who's Matt Smith for the "darker edge" he has brought the long-running sci-fi series. "He's a brilliant actor. He has a very long career ahead of him," she said.

"X-Men" star Rebecca Romijn and "The Closer" vet John Tenney will star in a new TNT private-eye series based on author David Baldacci's Sean King and Michelle Maxwell characters, the network said Tuesday.

The as-yet-untitled series, which has been given a 10-episode order, will revolve around a pair of unorthodox private detectives and former Secret Service agents who use their unique skills to solve crimes.

Maxwell (Romijn) is a formidable investigator with athletic prowess and Beltway connections who's determined to prove herself after being forced to resign from the Secret Service. King (played by Tenney), meanwhile, is a recovering alcoholic who was bounced from the Service after a candidate he was protecting was assassinated. Now a lawyer, he uses his legal insight to solve cases.

Michael O'Keefe and Chris Butler also star in the series, which is being produced by CBS Television Studios for summer 2013 premiere.

Shane Brennan ("NCIS") wrote the pilot, with "Third Watch" alum Grant Anderson executive-producing along with Brennan.

The new season, which begins production Feb. 25 in Vancouver, will focus on a new case, which will be resolved by the end of the season.

“‘The Killing’ from day one has been a truly original take on the crime drama. Veena Sud and the rest of the talented creative team are hard at work shaping the lives of Linden and Holder, portrayed by the terrific Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman," AMC president Charlie Collier said of the renewal. "We're so pleased to welcome back 'The Killing' for another season."

The new season of "The Killing" will pick up a year after Rosie Larsen's murder case -- which dominated the first two seasons -- is closed, with Linden no longer a detective but finding herself drawn back into the world of crime-solving when her partner's search for a runaway girl leads him to discover a gruesome string of murders that connects to a previous murder investigation by Linden.

"The Killing" averaged 1.9 million total viewers over its first two seasons. However, the June 2012 second-season finale fell off in the ratings from its first season finale, drawing 1,9 million total viewers compared to the 2.3 million that tuned in to the series' Season Two finale.

AMC initially decided to pull the plug on the show a month after its second season ended.

"After much deliberation, we've come to the difficult decision not to renew ‘The Killing’ for a third season," the network said at the time. "AMC is incredibly proud of the show and is fortunate to have worked with such a talented team on this project, from showrunner Veena Sud and our terrific partners at Fox Television Studios to the talented, dedicated crew and exceptional cast.”

It appears that the great Sunday night experiment for ABC's "Don't Trust the B---- in Apt. 23" and "Happy Endings" is over.

The two comedies, which were added to the network's Sunday night schedule, have been pulled from the Sunday roster, with a repeat of the reality series "Shark Tank" taking the 10 to 11 p.m. slot that the comedies previously occupied.

"Happy Endings" and "Don't Trust the B---," which regularly air Tuesdays at 9 and 9:30 p.m., respectively, began airing additional episodes on Sundays beginning Jan. 6 to replace the freshman drama "666 Park Avenue," which itself had been pulled from the schedule. (The network plans to air the remaining episodes of "666 Park Avenue" this summer.) The comedies were intended to run on Sundays through January,

However, neither show managed to find much of an audience in their new timeslots. On Jan. 13, "Happy Endings" matched a series low in the 18-49 demographic preferred by advertisers with a 1.0 rating/2 share, while "Don't Trust the B----," which stars Krysten Ritter (left) and James Van Der Beek, dropped 11 percent to a series low of 0.8/2.

By contrast, for their most recent Tuesday night airings, "Happy Endings" and "Don't Trust the B----" drew a 1.4/4 and 1.1/3, respectively.

Following Sunday's "Shark Tank," a Hallmark movie will air in the timeslot on the 27th. The slot will be filled with a "Modern Family" repeat and programming to be determined will fill the slot until ABC's new drama "Red Widow" takes over on March 3.

Damian Lewis will return to Homeland for its third season, it has been confirmed.

Executive producer Howard Gordon told TVLine that the actor will continue to play Nicholas Brody on the hit Showtime drama.

"He's alive so of course he'll be back," Gordon said. "One of the great challenges of next [season] is how he'll be back. But there's no doubt that he will be back."

Homeland's second season ended with Claire Danes's character Carrie Mathison helping Brody begin his new life as a fugitive.

Executive producer Alex Gansa had previously teased that Lewis's involvement in season three was "an open question".

"We had a much clearer picture of what the first two seasons would be than we do of what the third season would be," he said. "Damian's involvement and [the actors who play Brody's family] is very much up in the air."

Showtime boss David Nevins also hinted that Homeland could survive without Lewis.

Lewis won 'Best Actor In A Television Series (Drama)' at last night's Golden Globes for his role in Homeland. Co-star Danes won 'Best Actress In A Television Series (Drama)', while the show itself won 'Best Television Series (Drama)'.

Jeremy Irons wants American viewers to realize that "television doesn't end with 'Downton Abbey.'"

The British actor took several entertaining jabs at the popularity of the hit series Tuesday while promoting his PBS show, "Uncovering Shakespeare."

But he later offered a clarification that either negated his insults or amplified them, depending on your interpretation: He said he's never actually seen an episode of "Downton," which airs in the U.S. on PBS.

Irons, in a playful mood, spoke during a Television Critics Association panel in which he also took several deadpan digs at the French.

"What I'm really excited about with 'Shakespeare Uncovered' is we'll see some of the best British actors playing Shakespeare. What you can do is to open up to this huge American audience... show them that actually television doesn't end with 'Downton Abbey.' If you think that's good, then watch the Shakespeare productions. You'll see what real writing, what real stories, what real characters are about."

He added -- at the prodding of his "Shakespeare Uncovered" cohorts -- "We do love 'Downton Abbey.

But he went on to compare the show to a Ford Fiesta and Shakespeare to an Aston Martin.

"A Ford Fiesta will get you there and give you a good time. But actually an Aston Martin..." he said, as laughter drowned him out.

He later talked about the difficulty of performing Shakespeare: "It's practice, practice, practice with Shakespeare. You can't sort of mutter it in a sort of 'Downton Abbey' way."

A reporter asked for clarification: Was it fair to say Irons considers "Downton" a bit overrated?

Irons also joked that the French of old often lost battles because they were more interested in looking good than fighting. A reporter joked that Irons probably wouldn't be vacationing in France anytime soon.

"As long as you undertstand them, you can deal with them," Irons said.

Irons also talked about the "nightmare" of starring in a play with your wife, which he said he once made the mistake of doing in "The Winter's Tale."

"There's no one to go home to and bitch about your leading lady," he said.

Irons is one of several actors -- including Ethan Hawke, Derek Jacobi, Trevor Nunn, Joely Richardson and David Tennant -- who will help examine the author's works in the series.

PBS will air the first TED Talk produced for television, an education special featuring Bill Gates, Geoffrey Canada and Sir Ken Robinson, the network announced.

"TED Talks Education" will air Tuesday, April 16, the same night PBS will air the film "The Central Park Five," about five young men falsely accused in an attack on a jogger in 1989.

Microsoft founder and philanthopist Gates, author and educator Robinson, and social activist and educator Canada will record the special on April 4 at the Harvey Theater at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Friday, April 4. It will be produced by WNET and Ted Talks.

TED (which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design) is a nonprofit devoted to "ideas worth spreading." The group's TED Talks have become an online phenomenon thanks to their mix of data, video, humor and anecdotes to introduce innovative ideas.

Page 3 model Lacey Banghard stripped off naked in front of fellow housemate Heidi as she prepared to shower in the Celebrity Big Brother house last night (January 15).

The 20-year-old glamour model upset the ex-Hills star when she began to undress in front of her, causing Heidi to flee to the bedroom before branding her behaviour "super inappropriate" to husband Spencer Pratt and former Heartbeat actress Tricia Penrose.

Heidi added: "I don't wanna be around it, not around me and my husband."

Earlier in the week, a naked Banghard attempted to protect her modesty after forgetting her towel and emerging fully nude in the lounge to retrieve it.

Meanwhile, Spencer took a more laid-back approach to the naked drama unfolding in the house and applied a face mask to relax instead.

He added: "If it was a clear shower, maybe it's a big deal. I'm sure other people are showering naked."